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Monthly Archives: December 2016

Only 3 days to go, and the Year’s in review start to pour in. What happened in 2016 ? What were the amazing events that took place, the good, the bad, the ugly, the accomplishments, the extraordinary feats, the stories of victory over evil, of amazing tales of courage and strength that made us stand up and shout, and then we get the the list of everyone who died. And that, usually after a commercial break sponsored by a drug that will cure you of 7 things as long as you don’t mind the side effect of not being able to breathe. But where was I ? 2016, and what everyone else did. Shut that thing down ! And by that any I mean any screen of any size that connects you to the outside world that makes you feel like whatever you did this year was not important !

Take a look back, a real look, and you will no doubt find at least 12 ways that you helped someone else’s life, perhaps with a smile, a simple nod of understanding, holding a door open, or being an alibi when someone decided to skip out of the country. It is not necessarily a requirement to have solved the most complex equation, performed open heart surgery, or saved the world from either an air born virus or a stampede of politicians, we all make differences in ways that collectively make this planet the livable habitat it is, no matter how many people still think that carpeting is a good idea.

Take an hour tonight and think back as to how you made a difference, You made a group laugh, or cry, or collectively want to exile you from your town, whatever it was, you will be remembered for what you did in 2016.

And keep in mind, if you get nothing, absolutely nothing to come up, you still have 3 days left. I have a few ideas for you that will not only get you remembered as making a difference, you may also need to leave the country in 2017. Not to worry, I got your alibi covered.

Today’s inspirational nugget :

Dream big, but be sure you went to the bathroom first. Work hard, 45 minutes ought to do it. Stay focused, day dreaming helps. Surround yourself with good people, especially one that knows how to cook and can get you a passport in less than an hour.

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A mere 83 days from spring, let’s embrace winter like we would an old relative that we never cared for and only saw twice a year.

There is much to look forward to ! A mere 4 days from now we will get to ring in the New Year, hopefully amongst friends and family, friends who feel like family, or family that we wish were friends. What are your plans this year? A raucous night on the town filled with rabble rousing and violent shenanigans ? Or a quite evening of scrabble and your favorite sedative ? Perhaps something in between that is fun, interesting, and at least legal where you live.

The end of the year is often a time to take pause in the past year, to reflect on what you accomplished, and pontificate on how much your friends and family let you down. A trip down memory lane to take account of the things you saw and learned, and a look ahead to 2017 to make sure the things you did learn are put into practice. It all starts with cheating on your taxes.. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s begin with a look back in 2016 to see what you are most proud of !

Perhaps you did nothing more than clean out the old tool shed. At least you got rid of all the evidence !

Maybe you learned a new custom, or a native language never spoken in your neighborhood before. Think of all the expletives you can now get away with !

This is not meant to depress you. Everyone has a different outlook on what they consider a “productive’ year. You bought a new house ! You had a new baby ! Your rose bushes won “best flower” at the town fair ! You kept the authorities at bay for the 5th year running ! Way to go ! I will stop using exclamation points now…..

Take the next 4 days and skim over all that was 2016. Feel free to put your highlights in the comments section here, or on the Facebook post where this winds up. There is no “better than” answer. Constructing an entire town with only mud and old clothing is just as important as spending your entire year watching Ice Capades reruns. I’d like this to be as interactive as possible so we can all see how truly unique and fucked up we all are !

We only have about 100 hours left in this calendar year, plenty of time to reflect and share the many accomplishments that make the human race the embarrassment that it is to all of the other civilizations in the universe. I know you can do it !

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No sooner did I post on changing your outlook on life by being positive, when the universe sends me these photos below.

We’ve been trying to help Tracy find a new home, and as you can see, he is doing quite well at his new foster home.. There are things and events in this world that make you smile, this just did it for me…..

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You ever have one of those days that you cannot shake the doldrums? It may be cloudy and damp or dark and gloomy, the fog may be rolling in and the thought of going outside makes you cringe? You have nothing particularly interesting planned and you are one of those types that cannot let a day going by without doing a lot of stuff and keeping busy.

Today is one of those days. Christmas has come and gone and brings with it the inevitable letdown. Here we are the day after and yet today is the observed holiday for Christmas, since it fell on a Sunday. Feels a bit strange doesn’t it? I will take the day off of course but it feels like a limbo day, with nothing planned, nothing to do and nowhere to go. This will happen again a week from now as New Year’s will come and then we will have January 2nd off.

Now that I sufficiently depressed all of you, let’s shake ourselves out of it. We all get days like this at one time or another, the key is not letting it bring you down, or worse, all of the others around you. Winter is coming, and there can be some bone chilling, mind numbing Debby Downer causing days ahead. In order to combat this, I invite you to come back here every day between now and the first day of spring, where I will attempt to provide a spark, a saying, an anecdote, a poem, a list, a soliloquy, a poem, a photo, an inspirational sentence or paragraph to break the ice off of you, melt that mood of yours and lift you up to see what the world can bring if you only shift your view.

We will start by not talking about the 2016 election.

So let’s begin today, the day after Christmas, (or Day 3 of Hanukah) , or Boxing Day , or the first day of Kwanzaa. Straight away you can see there are many other customs to celebrate, and no need to be down in the dumps that Christmas is over. It helps to show up at those other parties both uninvited and unannounced bringing gifts or large quantities of alcohol.

Let’s look ahead to the New Year of 2017, and look forward to 5 days from now when we celebrate the ringing in of another year sure to disappoint the hell out of us by January 15th. But see, I just caught myself. Keep it positive, keep it light, keep your humor and keep your car running at all times.

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. One of my personal favorite sayings only because we will be able to say the same thing tomorrow. Nothing like recycling the same saying over and over.

From here on out, starting tomorrow, the sayings and inspirations are all my own. They may make you laugh, they may make you cry, they will certainly make you think I am crazy. Mission accomplished. I leave you today with an inspirational saying and photo. I find myself living by this credo every day.

Until tomorrow, keep your chin up, but not too far up or you will run into that door that just closed.